Opera Scotland

Il Trovatore

Posted 10 May 2015

Scottish Opera's much praised production of Verdi's Trovatore has opened with a strong new cast. This fiery production sets out to match the grandeur and drama of the music.

Conjuring up the spirit of the Dark Ages, a world rife with superstition and ignorance, this turbulent tale follows a dramatic chain of events set in motion by an accusation of witchcraft. The stark, brooding lines of the set combine with the atmospheric lighting to create a majestic and menacing backdrop for an impressive cast and chorus of fifty.

Il trovatore features some of the most extraordinary and rousing music ever written for opera which has the power to both engage the audience and ignite the senses. Verdi's score is packed full of familiar melodies, from the exhilarating Anvil Chorus and Manrico's energetic 'Di quella pira' to the spine-tingling Miserere.

Director Martin Lloyd-Evans (Pirates of Penzance 2013) returns to Scottish Opera to take a fresh look at the 2001 production, restaging it to tease out the psychological truth behind the characters' extreme actions.

The cast boasts some of the UK's most highly-rated singers, including soprano Claire Rutter, who sings the role of Leonora for the first time, having made her debut with Scottish Opera in 1995. Claire has sung ten other Verdi heroines throughout her career and has performed the role of Violetta in La traviata 60 times with Scottish Opera alone. In 2014, she captivated audiences as the title character in Scottish Opera's concert performance of Puccini's Turandot.

Making his debut with the Company, renowned Welsh tenor Gwyn Hughes Jones sings the role of Manrico, a role that he has previously performed at The Metropolitan Opera, New York. Anne Mason, who has sung at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera and who took the role of Fricka in Scottish Opera's production of the Ring Cycle in 2003, sings the part of Azucena. Roland Wood, who sang Albert in Scottish Opera's production of Werther in 2013 and Oedipus in English National Opera's production of Thebans in 2014, performs the role of Count di Luna. Conductor Tobias Ringborg (Così fan tutte 2009, Rigoletto 2011) makes a welcome return to Scottish Opera.

This opera was first performed in Scotland in 1856 - read about it here.